Pages

Friday, June 8, 2012

The Trouble with Lists - Dione Lucas - A Spécialité: Apple Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Last week we ended delving into the lives and work of the women who appeared on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game Changers in Food. While I am glad the adventure is over, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. During the course of the year, I heard from many of you who were not at all shy about sharing your views of the list and the women who made it. You were equally vocal about the women you thought should have been included but were not. All those who made the list had fans and detractors and those who compiled the list must have known that it would be controversial. I don't fault their judgment, but, in hindsight, I wish they had shared the criteria they used for selection. I'm also going to take the liberty of "adding" one last name to my version of the list before it is retired.

Dione Lucas was the first woman graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and she was instrumental in establishing a branch of the school in London before WWII. While it is a dubious distinction, she is also remembered for the meal she cooked for Adolf Hitler. She emigrated to the United States in 1940 and established her own cooking school. She also opened several restaurants in New York City, among them the Egg Basket, from which her television program, To The Queen's Taste, was broadcast in 1948-1949. She was the first woman to be featured in a cooking show on television and many view her a a predecessor to Julia Child. She wrote several cookbooks on French cuisine, but there are few accounts written by those who knew her or remember her fondly. She apparently was a difficult woman and her son has described her as a "complicated personality." Those of you who are interested can find a more complete, but short, biography of her, here and here.

Few of her recipes are available on line. The one she is most famous for is "Chocolate Roll Leontine." A really wonderful version of that cake has been featured on Smitten Kitchen and it can be seen, here. I, fortunately, have a tattered copy of The Dione Lucas Book of French Cooking and from it have chosen an apple bread that she considered to be a spécialité. It is very easy to make and its spiceless simplicity highlights the pure flavor of fresh apples. She used a meat grinder to prepare the apples, but your food processor will work just as well, as long as you don't get carried away and inadvertently make applesauce. This makes a wonderful, though not too sweet, tea bread. I really think you'll enjoy it. Here's the recipe.

18 comments
:

The Baker is starting to cook his way through The Dione Lucas Book of French Cooking. It has been on our shelf for years and I use it frequently. It was a gift from a friend of ours--a talented orthopedic surgeon--who cooked his way through it years ago. I'm glad you've added her to the list.

I can see that I'm going to have set aside some time to go back and read all of the posts I've missed during the wedding weeks. This bread sounds good, though I'm wondering about the lack of the spices I associate with apple.

A very good friend of mind has a Dione Lucas cookbook, she has made a few things from it, including the chocolate roll. I have been the fortunate recipient of one actually... it was amazing! This bread looks like it could totally rival that roll :)

Clever way to do the apples, Mary. I agree, Dione Lucas should have been on the list. Amazing, really. I could easily have taken several OFF the list, too. I mumbled to myself several times...why is SHE on the list?Young, innovative chefs like Gabrielle Hamilton deserved a place far more than Julie Powell. Oh well, as you've said from the beginning, who knows what criteria they used. And it was stretching to put Foodspotting on there too, practically eliminating one of the two founders, Ted Grubb for Pete's sake, but I still don't think they quality yet for game-changer status. (0ne wonders if someone knew someone etc. etc.)

At any rate, I loved the series, wish I had been able to start at the beginning, learned a lot, made lots of new friends, met lots of bloggers, and I send my grateful thanks to you for hosting.Have a lovely weekend, Mary!

I'm with you... there really were so many missing from the list... and, although I'm a blogger and I know they were trying to be current... well some of the bloggers had no business being on the list if they skipped someone like Lucas because of it. Oh well... lists are lists and I am grateful to you all for doing the whole lot of them!

I bet the top 50 list was controversial...I just love that I was introduced to some fine ladies I didn't know before. I have a big bag of lovely apples that just night find a place in this bread. Thanks for sharing.

Site Meter

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information with third-parties nor does it store information about your visit for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at anytime by modifying your Internet browser's settings. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a a users prior visits to this website. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads. This blog is not responsible for the republishing of the content found here on other Web sites or media without the owners permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice